11.20.2008

gore verbinski remaking the host

More bad movie remake news... We knew that a Hollywood version of the Korean monster movie The Host was coming. Now the project has a producer, and his name is Gore. We recently got word that Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, will produce the remake, with commercial director Fredrik Bond at the helm: Verbinski Gets a HOST.

The Host is about a giant squid-like man-eating creature, mutated by toxins, that emerges from Han River and snatches a little girl. When her dysfunctional family realizes she might still be alive, they band together to track down the monster and rescue her. It's a great movie, mixing the horrible and creepy with some wonderfully comic moments. I believe I actually called it the best damn Korean monster movie ever.

But remaking The Host is a phenomenally bad idea. The original is such a smart, wonderfully entertaining film, and its appeal is very specific to its country of origin. On top of the monster plot, the movie explores issues of U.S. military occupation, the country's deep class divide, and the breakdown of the family unit. There's a reason why it did record-breaking box office business in South Korea.

I fear that the inevitable Hollywood version is going to suck hard. Stripped from its cultural context, it just becomes your average big-budget monster flick. And Hollywood has a crapload of those. Why specifically remake The Host? I'm just having a hard time seeing what will differentiate and justify an Amercian version. Add it to the list of movies I'm not looking forward to seeing.